EAGLES TAKE CHARGE IN LAST FIVE MINUTES TO DEFEAT ELECTRIC CITY

The Clarkstown SC Eagles played in their second game of this scorching hot Memorial Day weekend, competing against the Electric City Shock on the Eagles home turf at Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ. The Eagles started off quickly for the second straight game when Semso “Sammy” Nikocevic took the ball down the middle and passed off to Lucas Befi on the right side of the pitch. Befi cut right around the last defender and wound up one-on-one with the Shock keeper who he beat with a shot into the left side netting in the eighth minute of the game.

The Shock responded in the 18th minute, but the shot went high over the Eagles’ goal. In the 34th minute the Shock’s Sean Ripley got behind the Eagles’ defense on the left side of the pitch and beat Eagles’ keeper Bryan Lopez with a shot into the right side netting, evening up the game at 1-1. In the 42nd minute, Shock center-back Daniel Fernandez pulled down Befi from behind in a definite goal scoring opportunity in the box. The red card came out and the Shock were down to ten men with more than half the game to go. Befi took the PK, which the Shock keeper kept out of the net with a dive to his left, the first half ending in a 1-1 tie.

The second half was mostly spent in the Eagles’ offensive half because of the man advantage, but the Shock defended well. Eagle Korab Syla had a good opportunity to score on a one-on-one chance with the Shock keeper in the 73rd minute, but his shot was blocked. Nikocevic saw an open net in the 76th minute, but his shot went wide right. In the 86th minute Nikocevic saw Eagles center-back Chris Riordan making a run down the middle towards the Shock goal. His perfect pass allowed Riordan to bang the ball into the back of the Shock net, giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead with just minutes left in the game. The Shock did not give up and made Eagle keeper Lopez come off his line to block a shot just a minute later. However, the game ended with the Eagles securing the win, their fourth in four games this season, remaining undefeated and untied so far this young season.

Eagles owner and head coach Oliver Papraniku felt his team could have played better today, especially with a missed PK chance and a man advantage for more than half the game.

“We could have been more aggressive in our offensive end, especially when they were down a man.  We are lucky to have Chris Riordan on our team, not only a quality defender, but someone who can also come through with a goal when we really need one.”

The Eagles next match is scheduled for Saturday, June 4th on the pitch at Mercer County Community College against New Jersey Copa FC.